Spring hinge



Oct. 12 1926.

C. G. WALTERS SPRING HINGE Filed April e. 1925 .P atented Oct. 1 2, 1926.

UNITED sTATEs CORNELIUS G. WALTERS, OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO.-

SPBING HINGE.

Application filed April 6, 1925. Serial No. 20,918. i

This invention relates to separable spring hinges, particularly those which are adapted. for use in connection with screen doors and the like. One form of, separable hmge heretofore used has the spring permanently carried by one of the separable sectlons Wherefore in the event of spring failure'the entire hinge must be replaced. Another form of separable hinge has the sprmg removable from the section but the s ring is held in place only by the hinge pint e. The principal objection to this arrangement is the difficulty of holding the-spring in place while the hinge pintle is'being forced into position.

One of the objects of the present invention therefore, is the provision of a separable spring hinge wherein the spring may be removed from one of the sections, but is normally held thereby when the hinge pintle 1s removed and the hinge is separated. An important advantage-of. this provision is that the spring may be readily replaced in the event of failure, et may be held sufficiently rigid in position by one of the sections while in use so that no difiiculty is experienced in joining the sections by the use of the hinge intle. A further object of my invention is to simplify the hinge construction so that all of the parts, except the sprin and pintle may be made by'stampings, w erefore the manufacturing'costs may be reduced to a minimum.

I carry out the above objects by provlding a hinge having separable sections, one

of which is arranged to frictionally engage a spring housing andto hold it in the desired position The housing maintains the spring under normal initial tension and enables the spring to be removed from one of the sections as aunit, without disturbing the screws which are em loyed for holding the sections 'in place. llll hreover, by em loying friction for holding the casing then t e pintle may be removed without allowing the spring to fall out of place.'

- The preferred means for carrying out'my invention is'set forth in the drawings wherein Fig. 1 is an elevation of an assembled hinge embodying my invention; Fi 2 is a plan view of the hinge-shown in ig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the spring and easing apart from the hinge section; Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the spring and casing frictionally held by one of the sections; and Fig.5 is a plan. view of the section shown in Fig. 4 and illus trating the casing as partly removed there-' from.

My invention is shown with a separable hinge having sections 10 and 11 which areagainst which one end 23 of the spring may engage. This slot also functions to permit the end 23 of the spring to be swung with reference to the casing and thereby to permit opening of the screen door. Durin such opening-movement the sprin is place under further tension in the usua way. At

the opposite end of the casing a slot'24 provides a shoulder for receiving the end 25 of the spring. Thus the casing functions to maintain the spring under normal tension independently of the sections 10 and 11.

To position the casing and therefore the spring with reference to the separable sec- ,tlons, I have shown the casing as being reduced to admit the tongue 12. This reduced portion is indicated in Fig. 3 at 30 and 31 respectively. The depth-of the reduced portion is approximatelyequal to the 7 thickness of the metal which forms the ears 12, whereby the outer surfaces of the ears are flush with the edges of the casing. Moreover the ears 12 are rounded, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to close the ends of the casing; Since the hinge sections are made of Hg t sheet metal, then the ears 12 are slightly yieldable wherefore the casing may be held by frictional contact between said ears. The extentof such frictional contact between the ears and casing is such, however, that if desired, the'casing may be removed with the application of only sli ht manual pressure, yet may be prevented rom falling out of place in the event the pintle is removed.

The use of a casing which normally holds the door respectively. The section spring under tension with the fingers during the assembling operation. In Fig. 5 the casing is partially inserted between the cars 12, and illustrates the ease withwhich the assembling or dismantling operation may be accomplished. v

When the hinge is assembled, it will be noted that it acts as an ordinary spring hinge since one end 23 of the spring is arranged to abut the section 11 while the edge 27 of the casing is arranged to abutthe section 10 while the door is being opened. The angular position of the slot 25 with reference to the shoulder 28 in the slot 22 can be so determined, that the casing holds the spring under normal initial tension. Thus the pintle may be readily removed or replaced without requiring the spring to be manually compressed. v

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Aseparable spring hinge comprising two main members adapted for attachment to the door and jamb respectively and a removable pintle connecting the same,in combination with a casing which is separable from and is yieldably held by one of said members, and a spring carried by the casing in such manner that the casing holds the spring under normal initial tension.

2. separable spring hinge comprising in combination two separable sections, one of said sections having ears formed integrally therewith, a removable pintle passing through said ears and joining said sections together, a casing disposed between said ears and being yieldably held thereby, and a spring surrounding the pintle, said spring being held under normal initial tension by said casing, and being out of contact with said pintle.

3. A separable spring hinge comprising in combination two sections, a removable hollow casing having open ends, a spring carried under normal initial tension by said casing, one of said sections having portions thereon frictionally and yieldably engaging the casing and functioning to close'the ends thereof, and a removable pintle extending through said portions and functioning to hold said sectionstogether. I

4. A separable spring hinge comprising in combination two sections, each having upstanding portions, the upstanding portions on one section being inside those on the other, a ho1low casing yieldably held by the inner portion, said inner portions being adapted to provide 'a closure for the ends of said casing, a removable pintle extending through all of said portions, and a spring held under normal initial tension by said casin independently of said pintle.

5. K separable spring hinge comprising in combination two separable sections, a pintle extending through the sections and connecting them together, a spring surrounding the pintle and the housing for the spring, said housing comprising a one-piece sheet metal member which is formed independently of the sections and which is adapted to hold the spring under normal initial tension, said housing beingyieldably held by one of said sections.

6. A separable spring hinge, comprising in combination two separable sections, each of said sections having upstanding ears formed integrally therewith, the ears of one section fitting within the ears of the other section, a hinge pintle extending through the ears, for holding the sections together, a spring surrounding the pintle and a housing comprising a cylinder of light sheet metal, said housing having shoulders therein for holding a spring in initial tension independently of the pintle.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

CORNELIUS G. WALTERS. 

